The Dallas Mavericks have signed JaVale McGee to a free agent contract and the team now adds more depth up front after agreeing with Samuel Dalembert and trading for Zaza Pachulia following the reversal of DeAndre Jordan, who signed with the Clippers after verbally agreeing with the Mavs.
The Mavericks had been looking into McGee for a number of weeks, as Marc Stein at ESPN reported that the team had "exploratory" interest in the big man. Stein reports that league sources said that McGee has agreed to a two-year deal with the Mavericks and deal is for the minimum. Stein reports that the contract has a team option in the second year.
McGee has dealt with numerous injury issues over the past couple years and he has missed over 100 games in that time. Last season McGee played in 23 games total and averaged 4.6 points and 2.7 rebounds. McGee has played for the Wizards, Nuggets and Sixers in his career and now he adds the Mavericks. The Lakers were also in the hunt for McGee and Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders previously reported that the Mavs and Lakers were "front runners" for McGee.
The move by DeAndre Jordan prompted the Mavs to trade for Zaza Pachulia and the team later added Dalembert. Mark Cuban said to reporters earlier in the summer that the team wanted another "rim protector" player and now they have that in McGee and Dalembert. Stein writes that the Mavs have Tunisian center Salah Mejri as an option after signing him from Real Madrid in Spain.
Pachulia is likely the starter after Tyson Chandler signed to the Suns, but the Mavs wanted depth with Jordan moving on. The team now is three deep at center and the team has other options in the front court to use in the rotation. McGee has played in just 28 games over the past two seasons, but he has the chance to show that he can stay healthy this time around.
Dallas has a stacked roster right now, as they reportedly have 20 players and are at the offseason limit, according to Pro Basketball Talk. Only 15 players can come with guaranteed salaries and the team has Jarrid Famous, Dwight Powell and Brandon Ashley as the bottom options on the roster with partial guarantees or unguaranteed deals. McGee is also getting paid over $12 million from the Sixers.
